Concord boys use height to beat Alhambra

Alhambra sophomore Brody Eglite (5) pulls down a rebound and looks to get to the basket in the Bulldogs’ 62-46 loss to the Concord Minutemen on Jan. 20, 2017. (MARK FIERNER / Martinez Tribune)

By GERARDO RECINOSMartinez Tribune

The Bulldog boys are reeling. They’ve lost four in a row, they’ve yet to get their first Diablo Athletic League win, and they’ve hit the point of the season where winning out is the only way the playoffs are a reality.

Their 62-46 loss to Concord High on Jan. 20 puts Alhambra at 6-12 overall, and 0-2 in DAL play.

A lot has fallen into place for the Bulldogs to end up in this win drought. But one of this biggest troubles of the season is one that has plagued this team, and the one before it, and even the one before that one as well.

Rebounding the basketball isn’t always about having the biggest guys on the court, but it helps when you have a player like senior Ben Moore, who stands at a cool 6-foot-8.

And not that he needs much back up, but he does get it from 6-foot-4 senior DeAndre Morgan.

Moore got the Minutemen going early on in the game with an impressive shooting display for a big man, but Morgan was a monster on the glass, and created countless second chance opportunities.

In truth the Bulldogs hung with Concord for about seven minutes in the first quarter, before Concord’s shooters started to cash in on second chance opportunities.

A brief three-point deficit with two minutes left in the first quarter quickly turned into a 10-point hole when the quarter ended.

Alhambra bravely fought back in the second quarter by getting to the basket with decent ball movement and penetration. Unfortunately their jump shooting couldn’t compete with Concord’s.

For a brief moment the Bulldogs found themselves down only by two points, with the halftime break looking like a great time for a breather. But back to back three-pointers by senior Nate Morgan and sophomore Cole Arabian stretched the lead again, so that the Bulldogs were down eight rather than only two.

Concord’s shooters converted 11 shots from long-range on the night, and the sophomore Arabian led all scorers with 15 points.

Defense picked up in the third quarter for Alhambra, but with that up tick behind the ball, came a slump with it in their hand.

An impossible falling down jumper by Jordyn Eglite fired up Alhambra for a second, but that basket was followed by only two more points from the field in the quarter.

Unable to capitalize on the slow quarter, Alhambra was immediately punished by a 13-2 run by Concord that effectively quashed any comebacks.

A trio of triples by Moore and Arabian (who hit two of the three) stretched the lead to 12 for Concord, whereas the Bulldogs only hit their first field goal of the quarter when Eglite muscled into some space with 2:01 on the clock.

Neither he nor the two leading Bulldog scorers on the night, junior Nico Martinez or senior Thomas McDonald could get anything going late, which allowed Concord to coast to victory easily.

With the loss the Bulldogs only avoid a tie for bottom of the league because Mt. Diablo has yet to win a single game all season in either league play, or non-league play. Concord on the other hand shares a similar 6-12 record, but has yet to be beaten in two DAL clashes.

About Gerardo Recinos

Gerardo Recinos is a journalist currently living in Concord, Calif. He is a recent graduate of San Francisco State University, with a degree in Journalism (History minor). Gerardo covers sports throughout Martinez and Pleasant Hill. It's his lifelong mission to get people in the U.S. to stop calling football "soccer," and to call American football "handegg."

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The Martinez Tribune is a community newspaper serving Martinez, California, and outlying areas in the East Bay of San Francisco. It is the only locally owned and operated newspaper in Martinez, and publishes all-local news, sports, classifieds, legal notices and other content of interest.